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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24534370">Secrets to Keep</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/pale_blue_skies/pseuds/pale_blue_skies'>pale_blue_skies</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sanders Sides (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fluff, Gen, Nail Polish, One Shot, be the change you wish to see in the world, because I do not, do i look like i know how to tag, emotions for a split second, just wanted some more wholesome nail painting content, mostly fluff tho</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 10:14:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,855</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24534370</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/pale_blue_skies/pseuds/pale_blue_skies</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Virgil had kept this secret for far too long for the first person to find out about it to be Roman.</p>
<p>or, fluff written at 2 am because i got the overwhelming urge to paint my own nails and this was the next best thing</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Anxiety | Virgil Sanders &amp; Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>40</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Secrets to Keep</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>timeline wise, i have no idea when this is besides the general "not right now but not at the very beginning". let's call it open to interpretation. my intent was to write fluff and i think i succeeded. enjoy.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Virgil twisted his hand awkwardly, trying to see his thumbnail from every angle. Deeming it acceptable, he replaced the brush inside the nail polish bottle and gently blew on his fingers. At intervals, he paused to listen carefully for any movement in the hallway. He couldn’t let any of the other sides see what he was doing.</p>
<p>It wasn’t that Virgil was ashamed of painting his nails. He frequently sported chipped black nail polish (despite Logan’s complaints that having chips in your nail polish defeated the point). He had even openly ventured into gray nail polish for a bit. But the shimmery, lavender polish that was drying on his fingernails was a far cry from the darker styles he’d worn in the past, and Virgil had a reputation to uphold, damnit. </p>
<p>When Virgil had lived with the Dark Sides, the various colors he painted his nails weren’t ever nearly as dramatic as Janus’s garish attempts at eyeshadow (usually a mix of yellow and green, and usually bright enough that Virgil assumed it glowed in the dark) or Remus’s frequent dabbles into SFX makeup (the one that made it look like his eyeball was dangling out of his socket was a personal favorite of his). So nobody ever even thought to question the pastels that Virgil had favored.</p>
<p>With the Light Sides, everything was different. Logan and Patton never did any makeup at all, and neither enjoyed wearing skirts, dresses, or heels. Roman had been known to experiment with makeup on occasion, but he had also been known to make fun of Virgil’s appearance, from his hoodie to his eyeshadow. He would never let pastel nail polish slide. </p>
<p>So Virgil didn’t really get to paint his nails the way he liked them anymore. Today was a special occasion, since Roman had said he was going to be leaving for a week-long expedition into the mindscape, Logan was busy planning Thomas’s next video and wasn’t even leaving his room for meals, and Patton was embarking on a personal mission to clean every inch of the Light Sides’s (rather large) home, which promised to keep him occupied for days, at least. If Virgil’s luck was good, he wouldn’t have to interact with a single other person for the next few days, leaving him free to wear his favorite nail polish- pale purple with a hint of glitter that only showed when his nails caught the light, creating a beautifully shimmery appearance. </p>
<p>Lost in thought, Virgil completely forgot to keep listening for footsteps and was startled back to reality by the creak of a door opening. More specifically, the creak of HIS door opening. Virgil quickly shoved his hands behind his back as he looked up to find none other than Roman standing in the doorframe.</p>
<p>“Virgil! Just the side I was hoping to see!” said Roman, stepping forward.</p>
<p>“You’re in my room, Princey. It’s not like you were going to see anyone else.”</p>
<p>“Very funny, Panic at the Everywhere. I have a question.” Roman looked around, somewhat pointedly, at the end of the sentence.</p>
<p>“Wh- Aren’t you supposed to be gone by now?” asked Virgil, still keeping his hands firmly hidden and trying not to smudge the nail polish.</p>
<p>Roman made a face. “I was planning to leave this morning. But I seem to have misplaced my very special, extra-delicious, one of a kind hot chocolate mix. The one with the sprinkles in it. Would you, perchance, know where it is?”</p>
<p>Virgil froze for a moment. He knew exactly where the hot chocolate mix was. It made some damn good hot chocolate, okay? He’d stolen it a couple days ago and <em> totally </em> meant to put the rest of it back after he’d used it, but he’d just… forgotten. The mix was hidden in the box under his bed. Which, coincidentally, was also where he happened to keep his nail polish. </p>
<p>“I haven’t touched your hot cocoa mix, loser. Can’t you just make some more? Aren’t you supposed to be the creative side?” Virgil said, definitely not at all defensively.</p>
<p>“I have made a <em> lot </em> of other supplies over the last couple days. I don’t have limitless energy! And no glorious quest is complete without my super-special hot chocolate.” Roman pouted.</p>
<p>“Well, I don’t have it. Did you ask Patton? You know how much he loves that stuff.” Virgil tried not to feel guilty about throwing Patton under the bus. It was for a good cause.</p>
<p>Roman glared at him. “Virgil, I know you took it. I’m not stupid and I saw you leaving my room the other day. Just give it back already.”</p>
<p>Virgil was faced with a dilemma. If he grabbed the hot cocoa mix himself, he would definitely expose his nails. If he told Roman where it was, Roman would see the rest of his nail polish, which was a rainbow of pastel and glitter. “I… drank it all?” Virgil tried to sound convincing.</p>
<p>“You’re telling me you drank over a hundred cups of hot chocolate in three days.” Roman deadpanned.</p>
<p>“That thermos does NOT hold that much mix… right?” Virgil bluffed. It was a normal sized thermos! Smaller than a water bottle! Roman had to be making that up.</p>
<p>“It’s bigger on the inside, Charlie Frown. As you said, I’m the creative side.” </p>
<p>“Okay, well… yeah. I’ll get it.” Virgil could <em> definitely </em>keep his nails hidden while grabbing the hot chocolate mix. He slid off his bed, facing Roman, and crouched down, keeping his hands firmly behind his back. Quickly, he stuck his hands into the darkness underneath his bed and blindly opened the box and grabbed the thermos. Now for the tricky part. Virgil attempted to balance the thermos on top of his palm, so he could keep his fingernails facing the ground and therefore not facing Roman. He stood up and held out his upturned palm. Roman gave him a weird look and reached out to grab the mix, but instead he just upset its precarious position in Virgil’s hand. As the hot chocolate mix began to fall, Virgil’s adrenaline kicked in and he grabbed the container out of thin air, holding it triumphantly.</p>
<p>“See, fight-or-flight reflex has its uses.” He said smugly. Suddenly, he realized how he was holding the thermos- his nails were directly in front of Roman’s face.</p>
<p>Shit.</p>
<p>“So anyways, here you go, have fun on your quest, bye!” Virgil tried to physically push the creative side out of the room, but only managed to smear semi-dried nail polish on his shirt. Roman didn’t seem to notice, and the look on his face was confusing. Virgil set the container of hot cocoa mix down on his dresser and backed away a little, expecting the worst.</p>
<p>“Virgil, if I had known you had a penchant for the wondrous world of nail polish, I would have helped you! Logan thinks painting his nails would be impractical, and Patton just picks any nail polish off after a day, so I stopped trying, but I didn’t know you were a fellow artist! I thought that horrible black nail polish was just for your rather dark aesthetic!” Roman seemed delighted by this new development, which… wasn’t what Virgil had expected. At all.</p>
<p>“Wait, what?” Virgil attempted to communicate his confusion via tone of voice, because he couldn’t fully articulate it.</p>
<p>“And now you’ve gone and ruined your nails!” said Roman, not at all addressing Virgil’s question.</p>
<p>“Sorry, can you just- can you just repeat everything you just said but a little slower? And calmer?” </p>
<p>“Okay, Count Woe-laf, I have had nobody with which to share my love of nail polish, and painting my nails on my own got rather old. So I haven’t done it in quite some time. Just- follow me!” Roman exclaimed, grabbing Virgil’s wrist and pulling him towards his room. When they entered, Virgil stood by the doorway as Roman pulled out a large box and opened it, revealing a nail polish collection that far outshone Virgil’s. </p>
<p>“I think I have… here!” Roman held up a color that looked to be a perfect match for the one on Virgil’s nails. “May I?”</p>
<p>“I… yeah. Sure.” Virgil was still surprised, but he understood what was happening. He sat down cross-legged on the floor and held out his hand to Roman. He didn’t want to admit it, but his hands were shaking slightly. He had been expecting Roman to laugh in his face, not… attempt to bond? He watched as Roman wiped off the ruined coat and carefully began to re-do it. Neither side spoke until Roman had fixed his whole hand. Virgil examined his work. In all honesty, Roman was far better at it than Virgil was. He’d stayed completely on his nails, no extra polish stained his skin, and the brush strokes were shockingly even. Virgil rarely had steady enough hands to do as well as Roman had.</p>
<p>After about thirty seconds of nothing from Virgil, Roman spoke up. “What’s wrong? Is it bad? I’m sorry, I’m out of practice, I just got excited-“</p>
<p>“No no no, it’s good! It’s really good, Princey. I just wasn’t expecting you to be, well, cool about it. You’ve always made fun of my black nail polish.”</p>
<p>“Your black nail polish is a crime against the world of nail polish, Virgil. I mean, you chip it on purpose! Who does that?” Roman looked at Virgil closely. “You didn’t really think I would be mean about you painting your nail polish with a different color, did you?”</p>
<p>“Kind of.” Virgil muttered. </p>
<p>“That’s- I’m sorry, Virgil. That was never my intention. Can I make it up to you with another coat of nail polish when I get back?” Roman held up the large box hopefully.</p>
<p>Virgil, against his will, smiled a little. “Yeah, Roman. That would be nice.”</p>
<p>Grinning, Roman got up and offered Virgil a hand. Carefully, so he didn’t once again ruin his nail polish, Virgil took it and stood up next to the creative side. Roman gently set down his box of nail polish and stretched.</p>
<p>“Well, I must be going! Dragon witches to slay, handsome princes to heroically save.” Roman struck a ridiculous pose as he declared this. Virgil snorted, appreciating a new side to Roman’s constant knight-in-shining-armor act. Maybe he wasn’t as full of himself as Virgil had always assumed. Much to think about.</p>
<p>Virgil strolled out of Roman’s room, retrieving the thermos of hot chocolate mix and tossing it back to him. He watched as Roman shoved the container into an already stuffed backpack, picked up his ever-present sword, and, with a wave of his hand, created a glowing door. </p>
<p>“Farewell, Virgil!” Roman called behind him as he stepped through the door. He looked back and waved, wiggling his fingers perhaps a tad dramatically.</p>
<p>“Bye, Princey.” Virgil smirked. “See you around.” As the door shut and vanished, as though it had never been there at all, Virgil once again looked at his nails. He really had done a great job. Against all odds, Virgil was actually looking forward to Roman’s return.</p>
<p>Maybe it wasn’t so bad if Roman knew this secret.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i am vaguely considering writing a part 2 depending on whether or not i am a functional human in the near future. comments are very much appreciated!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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